Parchment craft bonnet

The past two weeks have been very busy, including a couple of days away on business, so there's been little time for crafting, never mind blogging! I went to a workshop at The Craft Barn, Surrey, with a group from the Circle of Crafters which was fun: we experimented with Cuttlebug embossing folders using Versamark ink inside a folder then rubbing Pearl-Ex or Cosmic Shimmer powder over the card. Another technique new to me was embossing waxed paper, ironing it onto a piece of card then rubbing ink over the card for a batik effect. I still haven't played with these at home but this week looks a little less hectic so I plan to do some serious crafting.

Friday and Saturday I spent at a big craft show just a couple of miles down the road at Farnborough. I met lots of friends, both local and the 'usual suspects' from CoC (there are about a dozen of us in the south of England able to meet every 6 weeks or so) and as usual spent far too much money, this time concentrating on parchment craft tools and patterns since I've vowed to make this my main project this year. When I arrived home on Friday afternoon I was greeted with the news that our neighbours' new baby had arrived a couple of days previously so I was all set to make a special card with one of my new patterns! It had been an impulse buy because I rarely have to make cards for babies or older children but couldn't resist this book by Pauline Loweth, one of the great English parch craft teachers.

So here's my latest effort after two days' work. It contains several new-to-me techniques and I'm satisfied with the result overall, if not the details. Considering it's my first piece in over a year I'm pleased with it, and hope that if I work at it more frequently I might not have to re-learn everything each time!